ICN Subsidiaries Post $6-Million-Plus Earnings

Two subsidiaries of Costa Mesa-based ICN Pharmaceuticals Inc. posted earnings of more than $3 million each for their 1986 fiscal years ended Nov. 30, rebounding from multimillion-dollar losses the prior year.

Viratek Inc. and ICN Biomedicals Inc. each reported yearly earnings of $3.8 million, contrasted with respective losses of $2.8 million and $2.7 million last year.

Viratek is the manufacturer of its parent company’s product Virazole, an anti-viral drug also known as ribavirin. The Food and Drug Administration approved the drug about a year ago as a treatment for a rare respiratory disease afflicting infants, then a month later allowed testing of Virazole as a possible AIDS treatment.

Viratek’s year-end revenue was $10.9 million, more than tripling last year’s $3 million. Revenue for ICN Biomedicals more than doubled for the year to $41.1 million in contrast with sales of $16.1 million for fiscal 1985.

Fourth-quarter earnings for Viratek equaled $2.9 million as contrasted with a fourth-quarter loss of $1.3 million a year earlier. Revenue for the company during the last quarter increased to $5.2 million, 10 times the fourth-quarter mark of $522,000 recorded during fiscal 1985.

ICN Biomedicals, a manufacturer of medical testing equipment and chemical reagents, recorded fourth-quarter earnings of $721,000 as contrasted with a $2.9-million loss for the same time period last year. Revenue during the fourth quarter ended Nov. 30 totaled $11 million, a rise of 80.3% over $6.1 million in revenues posted for the last quarter of fiscal 1985.

Company officials said this is the first year they have released separate financial results for ICN Biomedicals, which went public in September with an initial offering that raised $3.2 million.